New synth plug-in aims to recreate the sound of Boards Of Canada

Hexagon Sky generates ethereal textures out of analogue synth tones and field recordings.

Sample Science has launched Hexagon Sky, a plug-in inspired by the sound of Boards Of Canada, Lone, Tycho and Com Truise.

The plug-in is based on four sound layers, blending analogue synthesiser sounds with field recordings to create the nostalgic, pastoral atmospheres associated with the artists that inspired the plug-in. It includes 101 presets taking in sound sources such as acoustic instruments sampled from public domain documentaries, playing children, howling wolves, bell, guitar and electric piano sounds and strings. Lo-fi textures are generated by four parameters labelled vinyl, VHS, tape and broken.

It's not the first plug-in to attempt to directly recreate such sounds. Psychic Modulation's Phonec 2 was released in March 2016, while Sample Science themselves once released a Kontakt instrument called Pastoral Tones that was "inspired by the retro sound of Boards Of Canada."